Economics

Zimbabwe’s $10 Million Bread | Newsweek International | Newsweek.com
Robert Mugabe has ruined his country. Inflation is kicking their ass - when the article was written, it cost $10 million for one loaf of bread. Printing money doesn't make things better, in case you were wondering. Neither does mandating prices.


Rising rice prices spark concerns - World business- msnbc.com
Rice isn't the only thing rising in price, but it's one of the most important things. Just as has happened with wheat, countries that grow a lot of it are either having bad weather, or are not selling their rice on the world market in order to keep prices cheap at home. So, people will probably starve.


China facing renewed fuel shortages - Oil & energy- msnbc.com
Because once again, government knows what's best for you, even if it kills you in the process of saving you from yourself. (Price controls strike again!)


Governmental Wisdom!

U.S. warhead error adds to troubled history - Deep Background - msnbc.com
"Deep Background" is a joke - the level of detail and insight you'd expect is just not there, not in any of the articles they write. And their background picture is incredibly lame - yes, repeating 1s and 0s, combined with words like "FEDERAL GOVERNMENT", "TOP SECRET", and "OPERATION" make it look very professional indeed. The whole missile parts thing is pretty funny, though, but unfortunately, it is not a joke.


Nipple rings cause airport security issue - News- msnbc.com
Because, you know, you could potentially yank them out and stab someone with them. Or, even more threatening, in the process of removing them in order to stab someone, someone may inadvertently glimpse your breast and either be paralyzed with disgust or lust, whichever best suits them, and be unable to perform their duties, like flying the plane. Truly, nipple rings are a terror.


Science

The nose knows: Smell sharpens during danger - More health news- msnbc.com
Who knew? Or should I say, who nose? (hahah. Yeah, this isn't too surprising, I know, but the setup for the bad pun was too good.)


Experts find oldest voice recording - Science- msnbc.com
It was made about 17 years before Edison made his famous recording of Mary Had a Little Lamb - by a French guy. Before anyone starts cheering or jeering or getting snooty, though - there was no way to play it back. Edison is still the first to reproduce sound.


Neuroscience may explain the Dalai Lama - Science- msnbc.com
Meditating can make you more empathetic and benevolent.


Assorted!

Kting Voar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It is a possibly real jungle cow that eats snakes.

Also see -
Gaur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It is a gigantic jungle cow. Males can get up to 12 feet long and 7 foot high at the shoulder.


Japan appoints cartoon ambassador - Asia-Pacific - msnbc.com
Yes, they really did. It's Doraemon. He's going to promote anime. So, it looks like there soon will be no place on Earth where I can go to not see that cat.
Look, a Doraemon!

Japanese fire pianist_English_Xinhua

Just weird.

Japanese fire pianist_English_Xinhua
Xinhua is almost totally unreliable. But the picture is like you might imagine. (He is not losing his job).


Woman sits on boyfriend's toilet for 2 years - More health news- msnbc.com
You might've seen this already. Pretty damn strange. Her skin grew around the toilet seat.


Burned alive for not washing feet U.S. Reuters
Yeah, so this bride was unhappy with her new husband. They fought a lot, drank a lot to forget the fighting, and he had the misfortune of forgetting to wash his feet before getting in bed. So she set his sheets on fire.



China


China slams U.S. human rights record - China- msnbc.com
Because they aren't happy that we called them mean.
Guess what?

"The invasion of Iraq by U.S. troops has produced the biggest human rights tragedy and the greatest humanitarian disaster in the modern world," the council said in its report.

You mean, aside from the murderous repression in Burma, the genocide in Darfur, and the preventable deaths of millions of Koreans from starvation and work camps? Or aside from the occupation of Tibet, in which, as you read this, soldiers are shooting protesters?
And on smaller tragedies, what about the occupation of Xinjiang? In both Tibet and Xinjiang the people are not Chinese, do not wish to be Chinese, and are not allowed to practice their religions, to say nothing of the millions of Christians in China. And then there's the threatened war with Taiwan.



I will grant that the war in Iraq has not gone terribly well, and a lot of people have died. But here's the difference: we're trying to make things better. Even if that's pitiful, at least we're trying. I'm not sure how brutally repressing a people, and crowding them out of their own land with foreign settlers, makes much of anything better.

Anyway, off my soapbox and onto the next thing. For now.



Taiwan elevates aboriginals to downplay Chinese roots International Reuters
I'd noticed when I was there that aboriginals were being fussed over. There really aren't a lot of them, though. I think they should also play up their Japanese and pirate roots, too - after all, they were a Japanese colony for a while, and some famous pirates were based on the island. The mainland never really did govern the place.


Science


Too many distractions get in way of learning - Kids and parenting- msnbc.com
Don't multitask, if you want to remember anything.


Welcome to the Frontier - Home Page
These guys make rocket engines for a living. They decided they needed more space and better facilities, so they bought a decommissioned Atlas-E missile silo. It's still got the blast doors and everything (well, all the structural parts. The nukes are gone, obviously). It's pretty cool.


Tardigrade - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There is a creature that can

survive temperatures close to absolute zero, temperatures as high as 151°C
(303°F), 1,000 times more radiation than any animal, nearly a decade without
water, and can also survive in a vacuum like that found in space.

Sounds a little scary, right? Fortunately, they are so small you can't even see most of them. They are pretty damn cool if you ask me.